Reset
by scorpclaw
Summary: Contains Shadow x Espio yaoi. Eggman gives Shadow the opportunity to return to the ARK. Shadow isn't sure if he wants to, so he turns to his friends for advice. They help him out, and many of them would like him to stay. Some more than others.
1. Chapter 1

**Reset**

Chapter 1

Shadow lied in bed for several hours with a lot on his mind. He was done with all of the drama, pain, and loss. He was especially done with all of the lies.

After several episodes of amnesia, Shadow finally decided to leave his life with all of his acquaintances in order to live on his own. This didn't mean that Shadow was sad and wanted a full life of seclusion, but he just wanted to be alone for some time. He wanted to get his bearings together before he figured out who he could trust.

He shook his head, knowing that it was pathetic that he was wasting away a lot of the day in order to mope in bed. He sat up and allowed his bare feet to touch the cold wooden floor. Light was beginning to flood through his window, giving his room a bit of life.

He was in a small house, only big enough for him to sleep and eat. Shadow wasn't too fond of having big spaces to roam around in, especially after such a large living space like the ARK was destroyed.

Shadow walked into his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His quills were a bit disheveled from tossing and turning while he slept, but they generally corrected themselves on their own. Though, for good measure, he played around with his quills until they were at least a little straight.

Afterwards, he exited the bathroom and went into his kitchen. He poured himself a cup of water. He drank the whole thing before heading outside.

Shadow was in an area that was filled with trees, but not enough to be considered a forest. He had built his home up from scratch using the materials from nature, only taking a full day to do so.

Shadow began to go on a little walk. Unlike Sonic, Shadow liked to take long walks around the wooded area to clear up his mind. With so much to think about, Shadow thought he would go mad if he kept himself cooped in a house all day.

The entire area was serene and quiet. Although Shadow liked this silence, he felt uncomfortable for finally not having someone to talk to, even if he didn't have much to say.

Shadow continued to walk through the woodland, getting lost in his thoughts. He thought back to when he worked for Eggman on the ARK. He at least enjoyed the feeling of being useful, even if he didn't show it with anyone.

As Shadow made it to one of his 'checkpoints', he heard an incredibly loud noise on his right. It was one of the loudest things he had heard in months, and it caught his attention immediately. The noise was one of the most exciting thing that he had heard in a couple of weeks so he ran over to the source, his curiosity actually getting the best of him.

He ran several meters until he eventually made it to an open grass field. He recognized the area since he passed by it several times on his walk. Though, he wasn't interested in the field. He was more interested in the vessel that sat in a minor crater.

Shadow slowly went to the small metal tank, staying cautious of any possible dangers that could come of him. After waiting for a good minute, he felt that the situation was fairly safe and decided to take a risk. He took the final steps towards the tanks and got close enough to examine it.

He circled it three times and he thought the same thing each time: "This thing seems familiar." He recognized it as some kind of escape pod, which explained why there was such a loud noise; it must have fallen out of the sky. Shadow placed his hand on the smooth, metal exterior and shivered at how cold it was to the touch.

Shadow knocked on it to see if something would happen. He waited for a couple of moments and sighed, realizing the vessel wasn't worth his time. He turned around and was about to walk off when he heard another noise come from the escape pod. Shadow turned around again and noticed that the entrance to the hatch was opened. He quickly returned to the pod and tried to see if anyone was inside. There wasn't enough light to see into the dark insides, so Shadow took the initiative and clutched the entrance.

Shadow pulled using his inner strength and managed to make the entrance budge. After a few moments, the entrance gave in and was easily pulled and brought to the ground. Shadow rubbed his hands together, getting rid of the uncomfortable buzz from clutching the door too hard. After it went away, Shadow looked inside to see what he achieved. It wasn't what he had expected.

Shadow took a few steps back as a tall man took a step out of the escape pod. He was slightly hurt, a few bruises showing on his head and a blood stain on one of his sleeves. Shadow took a few more steps back, taking in what was happening. He was standing in front of one of his former 'masters': Dr. Eggman.

"Doctor…" Shadow said exasperatedly as he took more steps backward. "What are you doing here?"

Eggman tried to rub some of the dust off of his clothing. After sufficiently pulling himself together, he brought his attention back to Shadow. "Well Shadow, I guess it is only coincidental that I run into you in the middle of nowhere."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "That isn't important. Why were you in that escape pod? Did you crash land?"

"Well, if you must know, I had no means of returning to Earth, so I was forced to use an escape pod… that I hadn't tested before. It looks like it'll need a few more tweaks so that its engines won't just shut off mid-flight."

"I see. That would explain the crash landing." Shadow thought about what Eggman said again. "But that would not explain what you were doing in an escape pod in the first place. You said you needed to return to Earth… so where were you?"

Eggman sighed. "You've clearly changed, Shadow. Now you're upbeat with all of these questions that don't benefit either of us. But if you're that curious, I guess I can say that I was returning from the Space Colony ARK."

"What kind of business would you have on the ARK? Most of its functions are now useless and it is completely deserted at this point."

Eggman rolled his eyes. "You really did detach yourself from society, didn't you? That would make sense since neither I nor any of your friends have heard from you since your last amnesia episode."

"I'm just getting my life back together," Shadow mumbled to himself, even though he knew that Eggman could hear him. "And why does it matter to you if I detached myself from society?"

"Well, believe it or not Shadow, I am the one who released you from your slumber after several years. We'll have a connection that lasts until the end of time, so things like that do matter to me." Eggman sighed, trying to avoid sounding sentimental. "But what really matters at this point is that you understand what you've been detached from."

"Explain," Shadow said, expressionless.

"I have managed to reform my ways, especially since my evil plans were getting me nowhere other that prison. When I was last released from prison, scientists decided to use my expertise of the ARK to their benefit. At this very moment, the ARK is being used for a study of extended space life."

"What does that mean?" Shadow asked, a spark of curiosity creeping up on his face.

"This means that the ARK is now populated and full of life. This wasn't the primary function for the ARK, but now that it's not being used a weapon, its functions are now a bit more optimal."

"So… the ARK is reformed back to its former glory?"

Eggman nodded. "You can say that." Eggman approached Shadow, who didn't make any more attempts to avoid him. "Uh… I was sent to gather some resources and to test the escape pod. In a couple of days, a transport will be sent for me so that I can return to the ARK." He placed his hand on Shadow's shoulder, much like a father would with his son. "You are welcome to come back with me."

Shadow shook off Eggman's hand and turned to the side so that he could only see Eggman in his peripheral vision. He took a deep breath in and out, getting all of the facts together. He truly was separate from society if he could let such important information get past him without his knowledge. "I don't know what I think about that, Doctor. I've created a life for myself here on Earth with a passageway to return to Mobius whenever I like. If I were to return to the ARK, it would be as if my life would reset and all of those bad memories would return."

"From what I can tell, Shadow, you're living a life of solitude right now. No friends or family to look to if you ever encounter any problems in the future. Do you expect me to believe that you would rather be alone than to go back to your first home to be with a bunch of other people who would understand you?"

"My life of solitude is my own doing. If I wanted to, I can seek for my 'friends' and return to society as a normal hedgehog."

"I find that hard to believe, but I'll simply take your word for it." Eggman sighed once again. "Well, Shadow… I'm not forcing you to do anything at this point. It is your choice if you would like to return to the ARK with me. However, I'll give you some insight. The ARK was your home and without your help, I wouldn't have been able to discover it and my grandfather's plot to destroy the world. Much of its history begins with you."

Shadow nodded, keeping himself deep in thought. "I'm going to need some time to think on this, Doctor. This… is a lot to process all in just a few minutes."

Eggman nodded. "I understand." Eggman grabbed some of his things from the escape pod and reached into his pocket to grab a piece of paper. He handed it to Shadow. "This is the address of the hotel I'm staying at in Station Square. Once you come to a decision, feel free to stop by at any time before I leave."

Shadow took a look at the card in his hand and examined the address that was on it. He looked back up at Eggman and nodded. "Thank you for letting me know. I'll… see you soon." Shadow didn't take much more time to look at Eggman and say good-bye before he left to go back home.

However, as his home came into view, Shadow turned the other way to leave the area. He felt that going back home all by himself with the information that he was just given would drive him crazy, so he decided to go visit somebody who would be able to understand his situation.

Shadow entered the city and went to an address that he remembered by heart in case he ever wanted to return to his friends and become a regular part of society again. He knocked on the door of the moderately-sized apartment as he got strange stares of random passersby who recognized Shadow as the previously-known chaos emerald thief. Shadow ignored all of them and waited patiently.

The door then opened, revealing Sonic on the other side. Sonic gave Shadow a surprised face and said, "Shadow! This is an interesting surprise to see you. What's up?"

Shadow sighed, knowing what he needed to say. "I need some advice."


	2. Chapter 2

**Reset**

Chapter 2

Shadow sighed as he stared at Sonic. "I need some advice."

Sonic smiled, glad that Shadow was finally back. "Sure, buddy." Sonic stepped aside. "Here, come inside. Knuckles and Tails are out on errands so it'll just be the two of us for a little bit."

Shadow nodded and stepped inside the moderately-sized apartment. It was fairly bland with white walls and cream-colored carpet. There wasn't very much furniture, but there was enough to make three people fairly comfortable with whatever they were doing.

Shadow followed Sonic as Sonic went into the living and sat down on one of the couches. Shadow sat down across from him.

"So… how are you, Shadow? It's been awhile."

Shadow nodded, constantly shifting his sight from his hands to Sonic. "Yes, it has been a long time, hasn't it?"

Sonic shifted in the couch to make himself a bit more comfortable. "So… I know you like to get to the point. What kind of… advice are you looking for?"

Shadow stopped his constant looking and finally just focused on Sonic. "Alright, well… I was walking in an area around my house when I heard a loud noise. I went up to the thing that made the noise and it eventually opened. Turns out it was Eggman coming down from space in an escape pod."

Sonic nodded. He said "okay", not even flinching about the fact that Eggman was introduced into the conversation.

Shadow honestly said, "I thought you were going to be a bit shocked about Eggman falling in an escape pod from space."

Sonic smirked. "If you told me this a year ago, I'd be asking you a bunch of questions right now to figure out what he is plotting. But now, I can actually trust that Eggman is on our side with his whole "scientific project" on the ARK. Did you know that he actually came to this apartment a couple of months ago to apologize for all of the crap that we went through in the past several years?"

Shadow scowled at Sonic. "Do you really think that he can simply apologize for nearly killing you on several different occasions?"

Sonic chuckled. "That's exactly what Knuckles said. He nearly kicked him out right on the spot." Sonic looked at Shadow and smiled. "Besides, I believe most of the problems we had with the ARK were all a part of your plan. Eggman is the one who just pulled it off."

"I…" Shadow looked down at the floor. "I was confused. I was looking for revenge for the death of Maria, and I decided to…"

Sonic cut Shadow off. "Hey, Shadow. I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything. What's in the past is in the past. The bottom line is that after Knuckles and Tails calmed down, Eggman wanted to help make things right. So he helped Tails fix up some of his inventions, he helped me fight off some of the criminals in Station Square. He even passed Knuckles' test by waiting by the Master Emerald for three days straight without even attempting to steal it. Of course, Knuckles was looking through a camera the whole time to spy on him."

Shadow chuckled, thinking it was funny that Knuckles could be just as paranoid as he was. After that subsided, he went back to his semi-serious face. "On with the story… Eggman got to talking and he told me about what has happened in the past few years. Then he eventually asked me if he wanted to come back with him to the ARK."

"Well… wasn't it your home?"

"Well, yeah. I lived on it with Eggman's grandfather and Maria. But now, it's filled with scientists and a bunch of people I don't know. I just don't think I would feel comfortable going back to it."

"You asked for my advice, Shadow, so here it is. The ARK is your home, no matter who inhabits it. Though, I think you'd probably be happier here with people who actually know you better than you do."

"So… are you telling me to stay?"

Sonic shook his head. "I want you to figure out the best choice for you. If I asked you to stay, that seems… a little selfish." Sonic was about to continue when he heard a knock at the door. "Hold on for just a second," Sonic said to Shadow.

Shadow nodded and Sonic left the room. He continued to look around the apartment and realized how much Sonic had made a home for himself. He was living with his friends and did what he liked to do. Shadow was almost envious of the fact, wishing that he had life all figured out like Sonic did.

A few moments later, Sonic entered the room with a purple chameleon right behind him. "So… have you met, Shadow?"

He nodded. "I don't believe we ever met, but I do recognize him."

Sonic smiled. "Alright." Sonic turned to Shadow and said, "Shadow, this is Espio. He's apart of Team Chaotix."

Shadow stood up and formally shook hands with Espio. He examined him for a moment. "You're apart of that detective agency?"

Espio nodded. "That's right. We haven't been doing much lately, but we've done some pretty crucial cases in the past." Espio looked at Sonic, then back at Shadow. "Are you good friends with Sonic?"

Shadow thought for a moment and then said, "Sonic and I have a bit of a history. I guess you can call us friends."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Yes, we're friends. Shadow just doesn't want to admit that he has any friends."

Shadow groaned. "Sonic, don't make things more difficult than they have to be."

He chuckled. "Fine." Sonic turned to Espio and said, "So… you said that you needed a favor?"

Espio nodded. "That's right. We've been having a bit of trouble with moles getting around the house and making a mess of everything. They've also been digging up holes to the point where's it getting dangerous to even walk around." Espio sighed. "I'm ashamed to say that neither me, Vector, nor Charmy are fast enough to keep up with all of them. We've caught only about two or three of them and there's at least a dozen left."

Sonic smiled. "So you're asking the fastest hedgehog to help you out?"

Espio nodded. "If you would, that would be great. I would like to stop stepping into holes in the floorboards." Espio showed off his leg, which had a few scars and a splinter or two.

"Yikes," Sonic said, slightly disgusted by the disgruntled leg. "Sure, I'll help you out." Sonic turned to face Shadow and said, "Hey, Shadow. You need to get your mind off of things for a little while, so why don't you come and help us a bit?"

Shadow looked at Espio, then back at Sonic. "I'd rather not be alone at my house with all of these thoughts, so I think this would be good for me. I'll be happy to help."

"Great! The more, the merrier." Sonic led Shadow and Espio out of the house.

They began heading to the Team Chaotix home. Shadow and Espio walked next to each other while Sonic walked a bit faster ahead of them.

Soon after they left Sonic's apartment, Espio turned to face Shadow and said, "Sonic mentioned something about clearing your head of something. Do you mind me asking what you need to clear your mind of?"

Shadow shook his head, understanding that Espio was the honest and curious type. He wasn't afraid to ask the right questions. "No, I don't mind. I'm sure you're aware of the project that is occurring on the Space Colony ARK."

Espio nodded. "Yes, the project to see if humans could potentially live in space for an extended amount of time. What about it?"

"The leader of the project, Dr. Robotnik… we have a bit of a history that goes back at least 50 years with his grandfather. Perhaps even longer. With that said, Dr. Robotnik has invited me to join him on the ARK to live there with him and the rest of the science team."

Espio had so many questions to ask simply from listening to Shadow's short exposition, but he knew he had to be tentative of what he asked so that he didn't sound pushy. "Sounds like quite the offer. You say that you and Dr. Robotnik have a history that goes way back. Wouldn't you want to be with him if you two seem so close?"

"Our 'history' is complicated. We've done many things together when he woke me up from a 50 year cryostasis. Many bad things."

Espio nodded, again ignoring the obvious question about the cryostasis in order to gather more important information. "Robotnik has done many bad things in the past. Sometimes I find it difficult to believe that the humans didn't need much to forgive the mastermind behind the project to destroy the Earth. However, even Eggman's greatest foe, Sonic, sees that Eggman's reformation is legitimate and that we all have a reason to forgive for his actions. Sonic has done many things for Team Chaotix in the past, it is only fair that I trust Sonic's judgment on this one."

"So… are you saying that I should go with Eggman up to the ARK and live with him there along with the rest of the scientists?" Shadow asked curiously.

Espio shook his head. "You should live with wherever your heart lies. You may have a family bond with Eggman since he is the one who awaked with you and stuck with you on this ARK, almost as if you were reborn with him as your father. However, you also have a friendly bond with people like Sonic." Espio looked over at Shadow, actually giving him a sincere look. "The real question involved here is who you trust more."

Shadow gave Espio a bit of a surprised look. He saw Espio as a really wise person, seeing things in many ways that Shadow couldn't even imagine. "That's… really smart, Espio," Shadow wasn't afraid to admit. "I never really thought of Eggman as a family figure… but without him, I wouldn't have a connection to my… "real family."

Espio actually allowed himself to smile. "I'm glad that I'm able to help, Espio."

"You seem to come from a proper family, especially since you constantly in a formal tone. What is your family like?"

"I'm from a group of Shinobi warriors. We were disciplined in a way so that we can embrace important aspects of life, such as peace and patience. Believe it or not, I can be considered to be an outcast Shinobi for leaving the pack to join Team Chaotix."

"With that in mind, are you proud for what you did?"

Espio nodded. "Yes… I am. My Shinobi heritage will always be apart of me, but discovering my independence in Team Chaotix meant more to me than anything else did. It showed me that friendship is such an important aspect of life."

"Wow…" Shadow said with a mesmerized look on his face. "I wish I could say the same for myself, but my life has been so complicated up until today. I find it difficult distinguishing between people that I can consider friends or family. Sometimes it's difficult to figure out who I can trust."

"Well…" Espio started. "You have a whole day to figure that out. What are you going to do about it?"

Shadow was going to formulate a response until he realized that they were already at the doorsteps of the Team Chaotix home, almost as if it appeared out of thin air. Espio simply twisted the doorknob and entered the home with Sonic, leaving Shadow with actual coherent thoughts for once. He entered the quaint home, a very slight smile appearing on his face.


End file.
